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Cartoon Network Studios
.]]thumb|300px|right|An example of the old Cartoon Network Studios logo. Cartoon Network Studios (formerly called Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc., Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc., H-B Enterprises, Inc., H-B Production Co., or simply Hanna-Barbera) is an American animation studio that dominated American TV animation during the 2nd half of the 20th century. It was originally formed in 1957 by former MGM Cartoons directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and live-action director George Sidney, in partnership with Columbia Pictures' Screen Gems television arm, as H-B Enterprises, Inc. Established after MGM closed its animation division in 1957, H-B Enterprises was renamed Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1960. Over the next three decades, the studio produced a string of successfull cartoon shows, including The Flintstones, The Yogi Bear Show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, The Quick Draw McGraw Show, Top Cat, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Space Ghost, Wacky Races, The Magilla Gorilla Show and The Smurfs. In the mid-1980s, the company's fortunes declined somewhat after the profitability of Saturday morning cartoons was overshadowed by weekday afternoon syndication. In 1991, the company was purchased by Turner Broadcasting System. Although both Hanna and Barbera went into semi-retirement, they continued their positions as spiritual advisors for their studio, producers and, sporadically, writers and directors. During the late 1990s, Turner engaged Hanna-Barbera towards producing new material including Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken/''I.M. Weasel, The Powerpuff Girls and ''Courage the Cowardly Dog (in partnership with Stretch Films) for its Cartoon Network, the programming for which was originally significantly made up of reruns from the Hanna-Barbera library. In 1994, the company changed its name to Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. In 1996, Turner International merged with Time Warner. Coinciding with the death of William Hanna in 2001, Time Warner dropped the Hanna-Barbera name as a production entity, absorbed the studio into Warner Bros.' animation divison and re-established it as Cartoon Network Studios which was dedicated to revive the tradition of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons while following its own steps. Joe Barbera, meanwhile, remained with Warner Bros. Animation until its death in 2006. The Hanna-Barbera name is today only used to market properties and productions associated with Hanna-Barbera's "classic" franchises such as The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear and Tom and Jerry. History Pre-Hanna-Barbera Friz Freleng, briefly assigned to work under Hugh Harman, returned to Leon Schlesinger after his MGM contract expired in April 1939, and storyman Jospeh Barbera partnered with director William Hanna to make cartoons for Rudolf Ising's unit. Their 1st joint project was 1940's Puss Gets the Boot, focusing a Jynx the Mouse's attempt to outlaw a Jasper the Housecat. While released without fanfare, the short was a runaway blockbuster, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Subject Cartoon of 1940 though Rudolf Ising's The Milky Way got a win. As a result, MGM allowed Hanna and Barbera to make more cat-and-mouse cartoons, soon christening the characters "Tom" and "Jerry". Tom and Jerry quickly became MGM's most valuable animation property. The shorts were blockbusters, many licensed products (comics, toys, etc.) were put to sale, and the franchise would earn twelve more Academy Awards for Best Subject Cartoons nominations, with seven of their shorts going on to win an Academy Award: The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943), Mouse Trouble (1944), Quiet Please! (1945), The Cat Concerto (1946), The Little Orphan (1948), The Two Mousekeeters (1951) and Johann Mouse (1952). Tom and Jerry eventually tied with Disney's Silly Symphonies as the most awarded theatrical cartoon franchise. Initially banned by MGM animation studio head Fred C. Quimby from making a second cat-and-mouse cartoon short until the huge success of the first short demanded it, Hanna and Barbera and their team of animators including Jack Zender, Kenneth Muse, Irven Spence, Ed Barge, Ray Patterson and Pete Burness, worked exclusively on the Tom and Jerry franchise from 1941 to 1955. Part of Tom and Jerry's appeal and other MGM cartoons was related to the musical work of Scott Bradley, who scored virtually all of the cartoons for the studio from 1934 to 1957. Bradley's music work makes use of both classical and jazz sensibilities. In addition, he often used songs from the scores of MGM's live-action musical blockbusters, the most frequent of them being "The Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis and "Sing Before Breakfast" from Broadway Meloday of 1936. Fred Quimby left in 1954, and Hanna and Barbera became the new heads of the studio. As a result, their Tom and Jerry cartoons had lost their appeal in the eyes of critics, due to poor stories and bad quality of animation. To help the studio to survive, MGM started to reissue older cartoons, but that would cost more than producing new cartoons. Facing the financial sadness, MGM closed their animation studio in 1957. Category:Administration of this site Category:Cartoon Network Production Companies